ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
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India’s Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 198.65 Cr
Over 3.74 Cr 1st dose vaccines administered for age group 12-14 years
India's Active caseload currently stands at 1,25,028
18,840 new cases reported in the last 24 hours
Recovery Rate currently stands at 98.51%
Weekly Positivity Rate is presently at 4.09%
India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 198.65 Cr  as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 2,60,37,032 sessions.
COVID-19 vaccination for the age group 12-14 years was started on 16 March, 2022. So far, more than 3.74 Cr  adolescents have been administered with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Similarly, the COVID-19 precaution dose administration for age group 18-59 years also started from 10th April, 2022 onwards.
The break-up of the cumulative figure as per the provisional report till 7 am today include:
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Cumulative Vaccine Dose Coverage
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HCWs
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1st Dose
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1,04,09,491
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2nd Dose
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1,00,71,261
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Precaution Dose
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58,38,624
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FLWs
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1st Dose
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1,84,25,409
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2nd Dose
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1,76,36,186
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Precaution Dose
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1,08,09,476
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Age Group 12-14 years
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1st Dose
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3,74,00,178
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2nd Dose
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2,49,77,636
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Age Group 15-18 years
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1st Dose
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6,06,65,628
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2nd Dose
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4,95,12,723
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Age Group 18-44 years
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1st Dose
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55,85,34,458
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2nd Dose
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50,36,70,295
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Precaution Dose
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38,02,669
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Age Group 45-59 years
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1st Dose
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20,34,94,396
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2nd Dose
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19,39,74,298
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Precaution Dose
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29,68,665
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Over 60 years
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1st Dose
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12,73,04,400
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2nd Dose
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12,11,87,107
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Precaution Dose
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2,58,53,388
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Precaution Dose
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4,92,72,822
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Total
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1,98,65,36,288
India’s Active Caseload currently stands at 1,25,028. Active cases now constitute 0.29% of the country's total Positive Cases.
Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.51%. 16,104 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients  is now at 4,29,53,980.
18,840 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
The last 24 hours saw a total of 4,54,778 COVID-19 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 86.61 Cr  cumulative tests.
Weekly Positivity Rate in the country currently stands at 4.09% and the Daily Positivity rate is reported to be 4.14%.
Ministry of Textiles
Measures to Modernise Jute Mills
The price of raw jute has mostly been ruling over the Minimum Support Price, therefore, price of jute and demand by the jute mills may not be a factor in the decline in cultivated area of jute. The slight decline in the cultivation area has been compensated by the increased productivity with the use of modern agronomic practices introduced by Government. Also, Jute Corporation of India has been mandated to purchase raw jute from the farmers at Minimum Support Price  whenever the price of raw jute goes below the MSP.
MSP for raw jute is fixed by Government every year to protect the interest of the jute farmers. The MSP of raw jute in year 2012-13 was Rs. 2200 per quintal which has now increased to Rs. 4225 in year 2020-21. The opening and closing of jute mills is a cyclical process which depends on various factors of production such as productivity, trade unionism, raw material supply etc. The jute mills are in private control. The Government is however ensuring that there is sufficient demand of jute bags by mandating 100% reservation for packaging of foodgrains in jute bags thereby creating a conducive environment for opening up of new jute mills in the country.
Several jute manufacturing units including one composite jute mill have come up in different parts of the country as a result of the conducive environment being provided by the Government. With the provision of 100% mandatory packaging of foodgrains in jute bags, there is no dearth in the demand of jute bags. In fact, the demand of jute bags is more than the capacity of jute mills due to which the Government has to resort to dilution in the provision of 100% mandatory reservation of jute bags for packaging of foodgrains.
To modernise the jute mills, the Government is already implementing the Incentive Scheme for Acquisition of Plant & Machinery . Under the scheme, efforts are being made to increase the productivity of the jute mills by providing capital subsidy to replace the old machines with new and technologically advanced machines. During 2014-15 to 2018-19, capital subsidy amounting to Rs. 49.71 crores has been released to modernise jute mills and JDP units.
This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Protection to Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace
The Government has enacted “The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace  Act, 2013”  which aims to provide protection to women against sexual harassment at workplace and for the prevention and redressal of complaints related to it. The Act covers all women, irrespective of their age, employment status or nature of work whether working in public or private, organised or unorganised sector.
The Act casts an obligation upon employers of all workplaces, public or private, to provide a safe and secure working environment free from sexual harassment, whereby every employer is mandated to constitute an Internal Committee  where the number of employees/ workers is more than 10. Similarly, the Appropriate Government is authorized to constitute Local Committee  in every district to receive complaints from organizations having less than ten workers or if the complaint is against the employer himself.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID19 Vaccination: Myth vs. Facts
States/ UTs had been informed adequately in advance about Vaccine doses that will be made available to them in July
States/UTs have been advised to inform Union Health Ministry in case more doses of vaccine are required
Recently there have been some media reports alleging COVID19 vaccine shortage in Rajasthan during the last two days leading to closing of some COVID vaccination centres.
It is clarified that the States/ UTs had been informed adequately in advance about the total doses that will be made available to them as well as to the private sector hospitals during the month of July 2021. The States have been advised to plan their COVID -19 Vaccination sessions based on the availability of COVID vaccines.
On 1st July 2021, Rajasthan had over 1.69 lakh unutilised balance doses of vaccines available with it. Under the National COVID Vaccination Program, the State has received over 8.89 lakh doses of vaccines between 1st and 6th July 2021 free of cost from Government of India. In addition, Rajasthan would receive an additional 39 lakh 51 thousand doses during the remaining part of July 2021. Hence in the entire month of July 2021, Rajasthan will receive more than 50 lakh 90 thousand vaccine doses. This quantity may increase further depending on the production and availability of the vaccine doses. Furthermore, States have also been requested to indicate to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in case more doses of COVID vaccine are required by them.
Since the vaccines are a biological product, the process of manufacturing takes time. Once produced, the vaccines are tested for quality and safety. Thus, the manufacturing process to production of vaccine takes time and does not translate into immediate supply.
Ministry of Law and Justice
Special Session on International Day for Yoga organised by Department of Justice
(On the occasion of International Day For Yoga, the Department of Justice organised a special session on Yoga at Jaisalmer House, New Delhi. Imbibing the spirit of mindfulness and tranquillity, Officers and Staff participated in the session on yoga with zeal and resolved to practice yoga.
Ministry of Defence
Indian Navy’s Maiden Exercise with Algerian Navy
As part of her ongoing goodwill visit to Europe and Africa, INS Tabar took part in a Maritime Partnership Exercise with Algerian Navy ship 'Ezzadjer' on 29 Aug 21.
The landmark exercise, held off the Algerian coast, saw participation of a frontline Algerian warship, 'Ezzadjer'.
As part of the exercise, diverse activities includingco-ordinatedmanoeuvring, communication procedures and steam past were undertaken between the Indian and Algerian warships. The exercise enabled the two navies to understand the concept of operations followed by each other, enhanced interoperability and opened the possibility of increasing interaction and collaboration between them in future.
Ministry of Defence
FDI in Defence Sector
In May, 2001, the Defence Industry sector, which was hitherto reserved for the public sector, was opened upto 100% for Indian private sector participation, with Foreign Direct Investment  upto 26% both subject to licensing. Further, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry vide Press Note No. 5 , has allowed FDI under automatic route upto 49% and above 49% through government route wherever it is likely to result in access to modern technology or for other reasons to be recorded. Further, FDI in defence industry sector is subject to industrial licence under Industries  Act, 1951 and manufacturing of small arms and ammunition under the Arms Act, 1959. By allowing higher FDI in the Defence sector, the global companies having high-end technologies can be encouraged to set up their manufacturing base in India in collaboration with Indian companies, thereby resulting in creation of employment opportunities, saving of foreign exchange and increasing indigenization. FDI is one of the sources available for the industry to access some of the technologies required to indigenously design, develop and produce the equipments, weapon systems/platforms required for defence. As per the data furnished by 37 companies operating in Defence and Aerospace sector, so far, FDI inflows of over Rs 1,561 crore have been reported in defence and aerospace sector after 2014 under automatic route.
The Government reviews the FDI policy in all sectors including defence on an ongoing basis and makes changes from time to time, to ensure that India remains an attractive & investor friendly destination. It has been the endeavour of the Government to put in place an enabling and investor friendly FDI policy. The intent is to make the FDI policy more investor friendly and remove the policy bottlenecks that have been hindering investment inflows into the country.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Naik in a written reply to Shri Dhiraj Prasad Sahu in Rajya Sabha today.
ABB/SS/Nampi/KA/DK/Savvy
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Cabinet
Boost to Metro Rail connectivity in Bhopal
Cabinet approves Bhopal Metro Rail Project comprising two corridors
 Karond Circle to AIIMS  Bhadbhada Square to RatnagiriTiraha
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved implementation of Bhopal Metro Rail Project comprising two corridors of total length 27.87 Km  Karond Circle to AIIMS  and  Bhadbhada Square to RatnagiriTiraha  which will connect major public nodes and city cluster areas of Bhopal.
Details:
- The length of Karond to AIIMS corridor is 14.99 km, which is mostly elevated and partly underground  and comprises of 16 Stations .
- The length of Bhadbhada to RatnagiriTiraha corridor is 12.88 km comprising of 14 stations all elevated.
- The project will provide continuous availability of affordable, reliable, safe, secure and seamless transport system in the urban agglomeration of the city, which will reduce the accidents, pollution, travel time, energy consumption, anti-social incidents as well as regulate urban expansion and land use for sustainable development.
- The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 6941.40 crore and the project will be completed in four years.
Benefits:
The population of 23 lakh of Bhopal agglomeration area is expected to be benefitted by Bhopal Metro Rail Project directly and indirectly. The corridors will be having Multimodal Integration with Railway Stations & BRTS Stations and will have feeder network of Bus, Intermediate Public Transport  and Non Motorised Transport . The Project will have non-fare box revenue from rental & advertisement as well as Value Capture Financing  through mechanism of Transit Oriented Development  and Transfer of Development Rights .
The residential areas along this Metro Rail corridors shall be immensely benefitted by this project, as the people of these areas will be able to travel on trains from their own neighborhoods to reach different areas of the city conveniently.
Karond to AIIMS corridor will pass through the heart of city and connect densely populated areas with Bus Station, Railway Stations and AIIMS. Bhadbhada to Ratnagiri corridor will connect upcoming Smart City's Area Based Development  with BFIEL and surrounding industrial areas. TheMetro will provide Eco friendly and sustainable public transport to residents, commuters, industrial workers, visitors and travelers.
Progress:
- A SPY namely Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Co Ltd.  has been constituted for implementation of the Project.
- The financing of Bhopal Metro Rail Project will be partly from GoI and GoMP on equal equity basis and partly as loan from European Investment Bank .
- M/s DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH in consortium with M/s Louis Berger SAS and M/s Geodata Engineering S.p.A has been appointed as General Consultant  for Bhopal Metro Rail Project.
- The tenders for first civil work package have been invited and work will start soon.
Ministry of Finance
Multi Crore Tax Evasion Racket by Jewellers with unique modus operandi unearthed by Mumbai GST Commissionerate
Mumbai, January 18, 2020
The Mumbai Central Commissionerate has unearthed a multi-crore tax evasion racket that has been found to be transporting jewellery goods without paying GST, employing a unique modus operandi.
Specific intelligence was received that certain Jewellers situated in various cities of India such as Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata were supplying goods namely Gold and Gold Jewellery studded with precious stones or without precious stones to certain Jewellers based in Mumbai without payment of GST due thereon. The movement of these goods was being carried out by certain courier firms through various Airlines. Search was conducted by the officers of Anti Evasion, Mumbai Central GST at the premises of M/s CONCOR Air Ltd., Santacruz Air Cargo Terminal, Mumbai - 400099 on 07.01.2020. Seven consignments said to contain Gold and Gold Jewellery were intercepted.
Preliminary investigation revealed a unique modus operandi. The goods pertaining to various Jewellers were being transported by an aggregator as a Courier Agent. The aggregator used to collect the said items and carry on behalf of these Jewellers. In declaration to Airline, the aggregator acted as consignor as well as consignee, in order to conceal the names of actual suppliers and receivers. The goods included Gold Bars, Gold Jewellery studded with diamonds, Designer jewellery, Precious stones like Solitaire Diamonds, Rubies, Pearls etc..
The verification of the consignments was conducted from 15.01.2020 to 17.01.2020 under due procedure, which revealed most goods were without proper Tax paying documents. Even the documents which were found had misdeclared and undervalued goods. The total value of goods was found to be Rs. 26 crore approximately. Contravention of Section 31 & 143 of CGST Act, 2017 and Rule 55A of CGST Rules, 2017 was noticed. Further investigation in the matter is being carried out.
Multi Crore Tax Evasion Racket by Jewellers with unique modus operandi unearthed by Mumbai GST Commissionerate
— PIB in Maharashtra  January 18, 2020
➡https://t.co/xNsJAt47Rm pic.twitter.com/OIXvsQaFIR
Disclosing the details, Commissioner, CGST & Central Excise, Mumbai Central Commissionerate, Shri Rajesh Sanan said that this unique modus operandi of transportation of goods through Air without payment of GST using an aggregator has been intercepted for the first time.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
MoS, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship ,Rajeev Chandrasekhar to attend ‘Manthan – North Eastern Skills & Entrepreneurship Conclave 2023’ in Guwahati tomorrow
Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be participating in "Manthan – North Eastern Skills & Entrepreneurship Conclave 2023" in Guwahati tomorrow. This summit, organized by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, will include the launch of Residential Skill training programs under the strategic partnership between the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship  and IIT Guwahati. A range of millet products crafted by tribal beneficiaries under TRISSAM will also be introduced.
This conference will mark the beginning of a three-day exhibition by entrepreneurs, craftsmen, and artisans from the North Eastern states, along with the presentation of awards and recognitions to successful entrepreneurs.
MoS Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar will highlight the steps taken by the government to enhance the Entrepreneurship ecosystem in the NorthEast Region. He will also discuss specialized skilling programs designed for the youth from the region.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister , Shri Narendra Modi, both the Centre and state Governments in the NorthEast region have relentlessly strived to create skill development and training initiatives for the youth. His vision is to offer new opportunities for young India in the North East, aligning with the mission of "Naya Bharat, Naye Skills, Naye Avsar, Naye Rozgar”.
In August, MoS Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, along with Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, and Union Minister for Culture, Tourism & Development Of North Eastern Region  Shri G. Kishan Reddy, launched a special initiative named 'Transforming Lives, Building Futures: Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in North-East.' This initiative is backed by a budget of Rs 360 crore and is expected to benefit around 2.5 lakh youth.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Centre names new integrated food security scheme launched from 1 January 2023 as “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana ”
The Cabinet led by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had approved new integrated food security scheme for providing free foodgrains to Antodaya Ann Yojna  & Primary Household  beneficiaries, to be rolled out from 1st January 2023. New scheme has been named as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana . Implementation of the new scheme has started from 1st January 2023, benefitting more than 80 crore poor and poorest of poor people.
Keeping in view welfare of the beneficiaries and in order to maintain uniformity across the States, free foodgrains will be provided under PMGKAY for the year 2023 to all PHH and AAY beneficiaries, as per entitlement under NFSA. The integrated scheme will strengthen the provisions of NFSA, 2013 in terms of accessibility, affordability and availability of foodgrains for the poor.
For effective and uniform implementation of NFSA 2013, PMGKAY will subsume the two subsidy schemes of Department of Food & Public Distribution  Food Subsidy to FCI  Food Subsidy for decentralized procurement states dealing with procurement, allocation and delivery of free foodgrains to the states under NFSA.
Necessary steps have already been taken for smooth implementation of the PMGKAY in the field, i.e. necessary notification has been issued for making price of foodgrains zero for AAY and PHH beneficiaries, resolution of technical issues at Fair Price Shops , advisory related to margin to the Fair Price Shop Dealers, zero prices in the print receipts given to beneficiaries etc.
Officers of the Department of Food & Public Distribution and FCI are regularly interacting with State Government officers for smooth roll out of new scheme in the field.
The Central Government will spend more than Rs 2 lakh crore in 2023 as food subsidy under NFSA and other welfare schemes, to remove the financial burden of the poor and the poorest of the poor.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Prices of Onion and other Primary items
Farmers’ Clubs  promoted by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development  are grass root level informal fora organized by the rural branches of banks, Non-Government Organisations , Krishi Vigyan Kendras , etc. The programme is being implemented for the mutual benefit of the banks and the farmers. The major objective is to promote “Development through credit, technology transfer, awareness and capacity building” of the farmers. The clubs are beneficial for banks as well as line departments of the State Government for convergence of the programmes / schemes sponsored / implemented by them. As on 31st October 2019, there are 24321 active FCs existing in different States/UTs. Details of these Farmer’s Clubs are readily available to the public on www.krishaksarathi.com portal developed by NABARD.
This information was given in a written reply by the Minister of State Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Danve Raosaheb Dadarao in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
BIS to intensify Standards Promotion activities through engagement of Consumer Organizations and NGOs
As a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav 'Iconic Week' celebrations, a webinar was organized at BIS HQ on Engagement of Consumer Organization & NGOs in Standards Promotion Activities of BIS
While inaugurating the webinar, Shri Pramod Kumar Tiwari, Director General, BIS explained about the genesis of Consumer Movement in different parts of World and the important role it played in improving the Quality Ecosystem. He also explained the role of Consumer Organization and NGOs in development of Standards and how these organizations act as a bridge between government, regulators and common consumers. Shri Tiwari also explained the need for intensifying the Standards Promotion activities of BIS.
The webinar was attended by 200 plus participants belonging primarily to Consumer Organizations and NGOs throughout the country. Shri Chandan Bahl, Head, Think Nudge & Move Department informed the participants about the Standards Promotion Activities being undertaken by BIS and possible areas of engagement of COs / NGOs in such activities. He also explained the recent guidelines of BIS for engagement of Consumer Organizations and NGOs in the work of Standards Promotion activities including formation and operation of Standards Clubs, awareness programmes, door-to-door campaigns.
Consumer Engagement Portal, recently developed by BIS was also demonstrated to the participants. The features included easy registration of Consumer Organizations and NGOs with BIS using their unique NGO Darpan ID and PAN Card Number. The processes related to viewing the guidelines issued by BIS, programmes offered by BIS for collaboration and submission of proposals by COs / NGOs were also demonstrated.
The consumer organizations and NGOs actively participated and welcomed this initiative of BIS. They also expressed that they are looking forward to collaborating with BIS to spread the message of Standards and Quality country-wide.